Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-11-19
band-neyer

Ayesha made a movement so swift that
l could scarcely follow il, but 1t seemed to
me that she lightly struck the poor girl
upon the hair with her hand. looked at
distances head, and her staggered back in
horror; for there upon fer hair, right across
her bronze-like ~tresses, were three finger
marks as SChite as SnOG. As for the girl
herself, she had put her hands TO her head
and was looking dazed.
Great heavens''I said, perfectly aghast
at this dreadful manifestation Of inhulnan
power; but She did but laugh IA little.
Thou thinkest, poor ignorant fool" she
said 10 the bewildercd woman, that have
not power TO Stay. Stay; there lies a mir
ror," and she pointed TO Leo's round shay
ing-glass that had been arranged by job
with other things upon his portmanteau.
Give IL TO this woman, my Holly, and let
her see that which lies across her hair, and
whether or no | have power to STAY
picked up the glass and held it before
distances eyes. She gazed, then felt at her
hair, Their gaZed again, and then sank upon
the ground with a sort of sob.
"Now wilt thou go, or must l strike a
second time?" asked Ayesha, in mockery.
See; l have set my seal upon thee. so that
l may know thee till thy hair is all as
white a it, If / see thy face here again,
be sure toe that thy bones shall soon be
whittier than MY mark upon thy hair"
Utterly awed and broken down, the poor
creature rose, and, marked with that aw'
full mark, crept from the room, sobbing
bitterly.
Look not so frightened, my Holly" said
kyesha, when she had gone. II tell thee
deal not in m~agic-there is no such thing
Ills only a force that thou dost not under
stand, marked her TO strike terror to hei
heart, else must 4 have slain her. And
NOW will bic mY servants bear my Lore
kalhSrates to q chamber near my W
that l may watch over him, and be ready
to greet him when he wakes; and thither
too, shalt thouCome, my Holly, II thu
whfte man, thy ervant. But n thing
remember at thy peril Naught must thor
sey 10 kallikT ates as TO how this woman
went, and as little as may be of me. Now
Ikave warned thee.' And she slid ava
u give her orders, leaving me more abso
lUtely confcunded than ever. Indeed, s.
bewildered was /, and racked and torn b.
sach q succession of various emotions, tina
] began to think that l must be going mad
However, perhaps fortunately, | had blu
/ little time to reflect, for presently tn
mutes arrived to carry the sleeping lie
lsand ouI possessions across the centra
,ecave; SO for awhile all was hustle. Gu
/ new rooms were situated immediately bt
\ hind what we used to call Ayesha's bot
\ doir, the curtained space where | had frs
isseen he. Where she herself slept l di
II ,OT Al-- 1-0x, I... - -.
\ close.
/ Thapnight l passed in Leo's rom, bu
, he slept through ii like the dead, mve
\ once stirring. also slept fairly ryell, as
indeed, | needed TO do, but my steep wa
full OF dreams OF all the horrors and won
ders / had undergone. Chiefly, however
I was haunted by that frghtful piece O
'dtdblegie by which Ayesha left her finger
marksupon her rivals hair. There wa,
something SO terrible about the swift
snake-bke movement, and the instantane
Gus blanching Of that threefold line, that
II the results TO Ustane had been much
more tremendous i doubt IL they would
have impressed me SO deeply. To this day
j often dream OF that dread scene, and see
the weeping woman, bereaved, and marked
hke Cain, cast a last look at her lover, and
eseep from the presence of her dread queen.
Another dream that troubled me was
about the huge pyramid of bones. /
dreamedthat they all stood up and marched
paased me in thousands and tens Of thous-
ands-ip sluadrons, companies, and armies
with the sunlight shining through their
hollow ribs. On they rushed across the
plain TO Eer, their imperial home; l saw
the draw bridges fall before them, and
heard their bones clank through the brazen
gates. On they went, up the splendi
streets, on past fountains, palaces. and
temples, such as the eye of man never saw.
Bat there was no man to greet them in
she market-plaee, and no woman's head
appeared at the windows; only a bodiless
voice went before them, calling, Fallen ia
i2peridl K0r Observation-Disclosures
On right through the city, marched those
cleaning ~phalanxes, and the rattle of their
bony tread went echoing through the sill.
afr as they pressed grimly on. They
passed through the city, n climbed the
WALL, and marched along the great road
way thai was made upon it, till at length
.hey once more reached the drawbridge,
hen, as the sun was sinking, they returned
gain toward their sepulohre, and luridly
MS light shone through them, throwing
gigantic shadows OF their bones. that
tretehed away md moved like huge spi-